The Sun. — London, England, 1808-11-22 00:00:00

i iteral might have m ove d a l ar g e p ro p or ti on o f hi s atria into Spain. Here the examination of Sir Arthur closed. Capr. 14Aecoem, of his Majesty's, Ship Donegal, Was then called. He stated that he had been ern- P l °Yed on th e coast of Portugal during the whole of the wrinths of August and September last, in super- I nt ending the l an di ng o f the British areny employed 'n thitt country. • Q• State in general if there were any difficulties in landing the troops, horses, ammunition, &c. and in what those difficulties consisted ?—A. There al waY3 is very great difficulty in landing on the mast of Portugal during those months, owing. to ta le 'wen which causes a considerable surf on the beac li• Mondet - io is a river, but at the mouth of 4 , tner e is a bar, on which theie.generally is a very considerable surf. During the time I was on the Lending there - were only f our oi - five days on which a "nchog could be made without great ditficulty in corn 111°U boatS, but on-our coming to Mondego, we got a larg.! supply of boats of the country, which facili tated, the landing very much. I know of no other P b l o a a c t e s between ween Oporto and the Rock of Lisbon where the country ceuld have been procured for landwg troops, e4cept at Terasira, though I was not there. I believe also boats could be procured, and a lauding tolerably safely made at Peniche, but I or t he enemy. seen it. Besides, it was in the possession - Ft , , e enemy. I al so und:rsand, that under the 1 „1 1141 gs there is shelter from the we s t winds for a ir°rl vessec's, but that the anchorage is not good.— I) d ego River will admit . vessels not drawing more , fi ' 4ll 1 1 feet water, to the number of about twenty : W ". Du r i ng t h e w h o l e t i me we were engage d ere, e constantly e xp er i ence d- great d if fi cu l ty an d d '' hft ` i nger, the troops, &c. both at Mondego and at .u.tassera. b Q• Could th e b oa t s o b ta i ne d at M on d ego h ave e to car r i e d to th e sout h war d?—A . Th ey wou ld have been of no use any where else, because the troo ps Could not land on the o p en b eac h. i ba:4' Between Mondego and the Tagus are there any r , /, s d or Proteed parts of the beach in which troops '° ll ld land in bois t er ous weat h er ?—A. No. The whole is exposed to the westerly winds, and th e whole beach is very bad. The wind is generally northerly, but towards the end of August it often comes rOund to the south-west, as we experienced. , .. Sir A. WELLESLEY—Do you recollect one night i n the month of August, of being obliged td put to tea from the Roads of Massera—Of making a signal to the transports to follow—That many anchors were los t on that occas i on ; an d h ow man y were actually lost to the b es t o f y our recolledion ?—A. 04 th e , t o th of August the wind came to the South-west. ; w eibed and made a signal to the transports to do ~,() al5 O. :they consisted of about 230 or 240 : es sels, of which about the one half succeeded in Bettina under weigh, while the others were obliged t„.., 0 .retuatn at anc h or . N ext d a y th e w i n d, s hif te d . "1 our return to Massera Roads, I found that about ax l Y had lo st their anchors in attempting to weigh, • to t l(II teuie no doubt, had the . fresh breeze increased lost a connnon gale, m a ny of the m wou ld h ave b een ar ), they being t h en most ly re d uce d to t h e i r l ast de ut)t, and t h e b ottom b e i ng very roug h . M ost o f the tegsel s in which Sir John Moore's , troops were e ci , ra rlced were t adly found, and by no means cal c-liers 34 ' 11 0 beat off a lee-shore. They were mostly b„ ( , 4 6 •. D ° You recollect of any boats being swamped 14 uhl surf at Massera; particu l ar l y some flat-bot eel' boats : and how many wore lost entirely ?-•-- ~ 'the boats, in landing at Massera, were almost i,,, °lls taotly tilled In going in by the surf. About b - e n . tY. boats were entirely lost, end several men, I l eft le l ye seven, were drowned. The day before I fend -.43 'sera, being the 30th of. August, I could not Servicefor, although the carpenters were constantly "“Ployed all night. Sir HE W DALISYMPPE declared, that he had no • Inestions to Put to the witness. a Sit A. WELLESLEY reserved to himself to call on t ato Malc o l m a ga i n , if h e should deem it neces "}r, and his examination c l ose d f or th e p r es en t. , ". H. DALR YMPLE th en pr o ceeded t o re a d th e paper Paper given i nto t h e C ourt as t h e narrat i ve o f hi s 1 ' l3 ceeding s from the time of his being appointed ° !,,,he chi e f comman d o f t h e B r i t i s h army i n P ortug al . pe t his command had b een con fe rre d on hi m, as ap ared from Lord Castlereagh's official letter, in inn sequence of the high approbation which the zeal and Judgment displayed by him in forwarding the c ause of the Spaniards was held by the Government of this Country. The instruEtions which he received N t vere before -the Court, and although from Dupont . • , avin ,g in the'rnenn tirr-been beat, the views of his 4 4 °1 " talent must liffie - Undergone some charge, - he tei,,n,ot feel , himself entitled ever to throw out of his an t i That to 'cut off' so large a body of Fr e n c h tr oo p s , titer t - prevent them from retreatin g i nto S pa i n , 011 .1. , to, take part against the Spanish natio n , was an Ject neveito be lost sight of by him. On the 13th hi; \v . embarked, and afterwards had a communication k l it h Lt>rd Colling Wood. Joseph Buonaparte, he thieve had retreated from Madrid, bat observing that b :l „ l3 . .was a voluntary retreat, it- was by no means ap- V-7't that it was not made for the purpose of of i : 1 1 1 T'O operalinns, and to take . advantage of the die d,ied slate of the Spanish army, in consequence of 1 e defeat they had experienced at Rio Seco. On the 9th -he arrived oil" the - ragas, and communicated 'with Sir Charles Cotton. Sir Charles, he found, r ''ale a veq• mccleiate estimate of the French force. He Feeind to think that " bill ?" serious was to be e , x P e tetl ;in - Port uga l. He (Si r H. Dalrymple), , ' ow ei'errconlessed, that he viewed the matter very (1 4 , F L''"eolly, and th a t h e pl ace d more reliance on the in tormatio n he had received from Lord Culling wo od, by which the French troops in Lisbon were esti,4lated at 20,000 men . F rom t h e motnent h e l l 'i left Lord Collingwood lie had reileaed on theline c 2 .4 condua he ought to p ursue , and the result of this deliberation had been, not by any act of his to super sede -Sir A. Wellesley in a command for which b e --, s eettied to have b een i,pecially seledted. He saw nd m u se why he - should take o n himselfan unnecessary z sPonsibility,•by interfering with the preceedin gs o f • ..t.:l O fficer purp ose l y an d specially seleded for the par ttniLit' busin ess i n h and, whom he knew to possess .."e Confidence and special direalions of Government, - , g e n i, cl Who was- by, his m ili tary k now l e d ge an d expeti c h ighly qualifi e d f or the cOmmand. Here he ...,,, felt himself c a ll e d on to state an additional reason 9▪ r ,his ha v i ng come to this determination. He had r ec . eiliQd a letter (lie did not 40w if hliconid cal! it . a private - one) from Lora Castlereagh, instructing him in a particular manner to cultivate the confi dence, and at all times to profit by the advice of Sir A. Wellesley. That he might exped much assist ance, equally from his prudence and temper, as from his knowledge, courage, and experience. He saw, therefore, the fairness as well as expediency of leaving to him the completion of the _plan he had so gallantly and so successfully. commenced. On his landing he accordingly sent his Aid du Camps to inform Sir Arthur that he was on his way to join the main body; but that though heshould wish to be informed of their proceedings, it was not his inten tion to interfere in the management of the opera tions which were going on. He must here state, that though Sir A. Wellesley had addressed to him official accounts of his proceedings down to this pe riod, they . had never come to hand, and he landed without any information . whatever on that head. On joining the- main body on the 22d, he found them on the ground they had occupied t heday before. He saw., the necessity of removing from that spot; but why the army did not advance he knew not, nor did he feel any thing personal to himself on that subjed. He found the state of matters to be some thing.similar to what he had expected ; and after making' every allowance for the great advantages which the British forces had gained over the enemy in the battle of the preceding day, and the great addi tional less of the enemy in killed, wounded, he could not forbear from seeing, that these advantages were at least counterbalanced by the inferiority of the. British cavalry. - In the evening General Kellerman arrived. At this time he (Sir H. Dalrymple) knew not hingof the number and efficiency of the enemy,or of our own troops; and all the informer ion he acquired on the subject f was derived from Sir A. Wellesley in the observations ,made by him in the course of the discuSsion of the articles of the Preliminary Treaty, which immediately took place. The narrative pro ceeels to enter into the details of the Preliminary. Convention, which it explains and vindicates in the particular circumstances - of the contest. The words " private property," General Kellerman pledged himself at the time should be understood in their strict meaning, and should on no account be under stood to extend to tnerchandize. The endurance of the armistice it had been his (Sir H. Dalrymple's) ob ject to extent beyond the time fixed for it, to Live time, for• the landing of Sir J. Moore's division. As to the Russian Fleet, he did not believe that General Kellerman was at liberty to give it up ; but the whole.. of the seamen did not amount to 6000. Had he (Sir H.Dalryiuple) however,been in possession helet ter from the Government of this Country, stating, that the property brought into Portugal by the. French army, or the Russian property found in the Tagus, might be proper objects of capture by the British army forces, he would not have agreed to the article in question. The article authorising the French to carry away their private property, he knew had been viewed with the greatest abhorrence. He presumed, however, that on being considered and compared with other Conventions, the words in which the article was conceived would be found by no means unprecedented, or deserving of the broad . construe , tion they had received. The same words would be found, in similar circumstances, in the Convention of Alexandria. If these articles, however, had not been agreed to, the British army must have main tained their position till the morrow, or have ad vanced with not more titan sixteen thousand men.—. In either case the disadvantages must have been great, as the horrors of famine might have been super-. added' to•those of war. Being once embarked in so dangerous a service, active movement was the only . thing for the British forces. The artillery horses, however, were not sufficient for this purpose. Many of them were old, many of them laMe and blind, and even the remainder were not altogether fit for such a service. In addition to this, if it had been re solved on to attack the enemy, the British army must have been confined to a position near the sea,' to ensure the junction of Sir John Moore. Early on the 23d he was visited by a. Portuguese Of ficer, whose strongest objedion was to the 6th' article. The obvious answer, however, was that the Portuguese Govenrnent was then no where to be found. The Portugtiese General, however, was asked to state his observations in writing, but this he failed to - do. On the 24th; Colonel Murray returned from the Admiral with the article relative to the Russian fleet, and was Afterwards sent with it teethe French General, with a letter, seen and ap proved of by Sir H. Burrard and Sir A. Wellesley. He (Sir H. Dalrymple) seeing the appearance of guile in the condo& of the French.General-in-Chief, sent for Generals Burrard and Wellesley to consult them on the subjed, and Sir A. Wellesley had •the goodness to frame a letter of farther instru&ions to Colonel Murray on the subje&. On the 2eth, Cap tain Dalrymple returned with the terms of the Con vention. Of some of the articles he disapproved, and assembled all the Major-Generals' he could foe their advice, on the occasion. The Armistice ex pired the next morning, so that he must either have ratified it, or recommenced hostilities. With the approbation Of Sir H. Btirrard, Sir A. Wellesley, Sir J. Moore; General Hope, &c. he did eatify the Con vention, and the terms of it were immediately com municated to the Portuguese Generals. • , The narra tive then goes on to point out the difficulties which must have been felt in providing bread and other necessaries to the army, had it been increased even by the addition of Sir J. Moore's corps, in conse quence of which, and of the danger of the surf, it had been determined that these troops should be landed gradually,aed that each division should bring along with it provisions sufficient for its own ,use.-- The determination of Sir H. Dalrymple }Kit to su persede Sir A. Wellesley' in the command, after the vidoty which he had gained, he communicated to the other :dajor-Generals who were senior to him, and they received it in a manner which did them honour. An application had beep made by Admi ral Siniavin to him (Sir H. D.) to know if the• Port of Lisbon was to be considered as neutral in respell to the Russian fleet ; but to this he had stated that he could give no answer. If hostilities had been to recommence, the different castles"and strong holds in possession of the French must have been regularly besieged, one after the other :---Fort Saint Julien could not have been taken without battering cannon :—As long as they remained in possession of the strong position of • Almeidl no ship of ours -could approach the town :—A bat tle must have been tOup,ht almost in the City - of Lisbon itself, and the view of the eampaizti which he had ori g inally formed would at the last have been found to be the just one. The co-operation of the British force with the Spanish army Was, and had always been, the main and . important objet—the other was only preliminary to it : and it was of the utmost momeut to afford the Spaniards the earliest possible proof of the serious views we entertained-of co-operating with them in the most effeanal man tier. Without entering into a calculation of the time which might have been occupied in reducing the forts on the Tagus, it was enough to say, that the heavy rains were approaching, when no match ing into Spain could take place. He again wished that the Convention might be compared with other Conventions, and in particular with that concluded at Egypt, which it would be' found to resemble, not only in its terms, but in its nature and qualities in other respeas, particularly in the dangers of the service, and in the state of the army. He sub mitted, therefore, that the Convention might be vindicated. There were parts of it which he did not willingly agree to, but these were on points of secondary and minor importance; and he did not think himself warranted, when the main obje& was to be gained, to reject it because other points comparatively trifling, could not also be obtained. It must be kept in view either that he must have agreed to the Convention as it stood, or that the next morn ing hostilities most have been resumed under tl:,e disadvantages he had mentioned, and others whiCh might have presented themselves. The Convention, as expressly understood by the French General, did not authorise'the removal of any other but the pri vate property of the French themselves. This was a right of which it could hardly be supposed the Por tuguese could have expected to deprive them; nor yet could they be V 6 arranced in expecting that British valour, . however great, and however successful, should have been able to restore them again the lull effeas of eight months of French plunder.--:- Without laying stress on the threat of General Kel lerman, that if the Convention was rejected Lisbon should be destroyed, it could hardly he supposed that the late of that city should be indifferent to its own inhabitants or to the Portuguese nation in general. What might have been its situation it hostilities had been renewed, it was difficult to say. The Conven tion had at lease been the means of ridding it of the presence of its invaders. The Address or Thanks to Sir H. Dalrymple, which had been read to the Court, from. the Chief Magistrate of Lisbon, in his own name, and that of the inhabitants, proved that, notwithstanding the protest formerly taken by him against certain articles in the C6nvention, he had on refleetion come to see things in a different and more favourable light, and to estimate more truly the mercies which, through the means of the Bri tish army, they enjoyed. - That he had resolved, that nothing but private property belonging to the French should be carried off, was made apparent when General Kellerman, called on him (Sir Hew Dalrymple) on this subject, and regretted, that a person over whom he had no controut was resolved to carry off - some valuable property. Sir Hew's an swer then was, that if any person from the General in Chief downwards presumed to attempt to carry off what was not strictly private property, he should esteem them to have violated ahe Treaty, and as such should order them to be detained as prisonerS,of war. The Addresses from the Bishop of Oporto, arid other bodies, also proved that they did not view the Convention in the light in which it bad been treated by many persons in this country. A ltteir from General Castaoos also shewed the necessity of a speedy co-operation' in Spain, which, from his in structions, he (Sir H. Dalrymple) was led to sup pose one of the chief, or rather main object of his command ; and a letter from Lord W. Bentinck, who had since that period been in Madrid, shewed that the Convention .was thought adviseable, h./cause it bad rendered the army in Portugal disposable for this purpose. Sir ARTHUR WELLESLEY hoped the Court would indulge hint with permission to-morrow to - give in a statement explanatory of the proceedings before the arrival of Sir H. Burrard and Sir H. Dal rymple. The letter from Lord W. Bentinck and Sir H. 'Dalrymple was read, and the Court adjourned. FIIMI DAY, 'T,UBSDAY, NOV. 22. This morning the first business, after the,Court had taken their seats, about eleven'o'clock, was the reading, by the JUDGE ADVOCATE, of the statement read yesterday by Sir HEW DALRYMPLE, which is given in our preceding columns. This lasted till past twelve o'clock.—About half past eleven the arrival of the Princess of WALES was announced. Her Royal Highness advanced along the inclosed space, on the, left, and through the body of the Court, and took her seat behind it, on the right. Her Royal Highness was attend. ed by two Ladies and a Gentleman of 'her house hold: The'Members of the Court and .the OfficerS resent rose on the entrance of her Royal 'Highness, and did not l'esume their seats till her Royal High ness had sat down. The Dukes of CUMBERLAND and CAMBRIDGE were present; as usual, several Officers, and a great number of Ladies. SUA -OFFICE, THREE O'CLOCK, P. M. We stop the Press to add the following particulars to our detail of the proceedings of the Court of In- . , qutry this day : Sir ARTHUR WELLESLEY handed into the. Court a written paper, containing some observations in an. sever to the narrative of Sir Haw DALRYMPLE. After noticing that the British Army amounted to 14,000, and that means were in the power of Sir HEW to bring the business ton fortunate conclusion, he proceeds to admit, that he did recommend and con cur in the proposition for alliowilig the French to eva cuate Portugal, with their artillery' and baggage, mean ing thereby,. only 'their military baggage and .equip meets; tit he thottlit it more ndvisall the Brt tish Force in Portugal should be at liberty to a , Lt the Spaniards. In the interview of the 522 d of August v. ith Sir Flaw, he asserts, that he found the Commander in Chief prejudiced against the opinions which be (Sir ARTnua) had given• with respeti to the Armis. tiee ; these opinions referred entirely to the suspen sion of hostilities. Sir Airrnuit then complains of its being a ne measure of punishment, - to make a subordinate Of ficer answerable for his superior Officer's' nit taking the advicc , which he had given him that , he never considered • hiMself `'responsible for the manner in which the . Armistice was draWn up ; that he signed it at the request of Sir HEW, having been collets from an inner room for that purpose, af'er a con ference with General I;..ELLltmtit:, in point of forth it being necessary so to do, General KELLgrattAz.T being only a General of Division. • With respetl to the Russian Squadron in Ilt. Tagus, the article which relates to that, should e been the subject of - future consideration. That Sir Hrw decided for himself on every pri)position speaitig the Icegotta;ion, and that be never saw ti Convention till he arrived in England.' He .then concludes with requesting permission to call evidence to support the statements which lie had made. The Court was left sitting when our Paper was put to Press. PARIS FASHIONS. The number of Cassimir Hats becomes every day wore considerable. The brims of the hat are so small, that it IC. sembles a cap. The stripes of the Cassimir or Velvet Cassi_ mir, are sloped downward ; but the Modiste, without regard to these stripes, forms according to her taste, with embroi. tiered satin ribbons, sometimes tan shaped poiws on each side, and sometimes semi-lozenges or chevrons behind. The brims are now very seldom fastened by buttons, .though that fashion was almost general last year. When the ,Velvet is smooth, the Cassitnir ribbons give it a more lively appe,.f.: ance. These ribbons,. which are disposed on the sides, have embroidery at the points where they join; the embroidery is generally green on amaranth, amaranth on white, deep yellow on white, dark blue on yellow, dark yellow on brae, and amaranth on green. The green appears to be getting most into favour. A green flower, a myrtle in particular, is run upon by the Ladies. Flat loops, h/a Pe,/,ffaise, cn the front of a dentilate of pelare d'olgiti silk or coquelicut tissue, are now by no means rare. In consequence of this fashion, a change not a little extraordinary. is like y snon to take place. Our Ladies will have their breasts, from :the chin to the waist, entirely covered, and closely fastened with loops and clasps. Blue riding coats are worn, with the plaits sometimes be ginning below, and sometimes above the waist. A match was made, a fortnight since, for 100 guineas play or pay, for a small mire, the property of Mr. Sitwell,. of Charlotte-street, to perform 51i miles, in 'four hours, with hall an hour's stoppage 'allowed for feeding. The match was undertaken yesterday from a spot near Shillingford, Berks, to Hounslow; and the mare did her task in seven mi-. nutes less than the given tune. She performed chiefly at the trot, and baited, after going half the distance in three minutes less than half the time.— The odds were considerably against the performance. EXTRACT OF A LETTER PROM AN OFFICER IN GE NERAL BLAKE'S ARMY, RECEIVED BY THE MAYOR OF ST. ANDERO, AND SENT, 10TH NOVEMBER, BY 'EXPRESS TO 91JON. LAUgESTOSA, NOv. 9, iPos. I have just received your letter of yesterday, and in answer have to say, that General BLAKE hat replied to the dispatch which the Auditor-General of the Army, and the Major-General of Engineers, sent him from the quarters of Urrantiagal on Sun-. day, at two o'clock in the afternoon. The General states, that Saturday (Nov. 5,) was a happy day, and that the aspect of things had changed com pletely, the fourth. division being cut off, and four thousand Asturians nearly falling into the hands of the enemy ; he commanded a movement to attract the enemy's attention towards Valmaseda, when he sent the fourth division and all the people to the Heights, of Orantia, and its environs; that the 4th division was attacked, but defended itself with cou rage, and repulsed the enemy, dislodging him from Valmaseda, slaughtering them, and following them up as far as •the Iron-works of Urratie;' that the same day the second division joined, as did the As turians ; which caused great joy. On Sunday even ing he transferred his head-quarters to Valmaseda, promising himself happy results, the army being desirous of fighting. The Express arrived yesterday morning, and the two Regidores were desired to re main the whole of yesterday, although they could very well have gone to heed-quarterS. At present we base no further intelligence, hut we are very well contented, for the French who had come to Medina have marched away, and there is no pro spea of their return. The MesSenger adds, that he wos informed that our troops would enter Bilboa • yesterday, the sth." DRUEY-LANE THEATRE.—A meeting took place yesterday at the Crown and Anchor, for the pur pose of choosing a Trustee in the room of. Mr.. RANDLE JACKSON, who resigned,---A considerable number of the old and new Renters were presei:t, and Mr. HOLSTON, on the nomination of Mr. n SIER, W2S chosen to the vacant office. Mr. SHERI. DAN, Mr. GRAHAM, and Mr. T. SKERIDAN, severally gave a statement of the present condition of the Theatre, which appeared to be very satistaCtory io the Meeting. • The Southwest gales hare been felt in a very se rious way at Brighton. The sea has washed dowp a large part crf the Cliff on the Marine Parade, and narrowed the eoach-rOad, which was before •too nar row. „It is now obvious that the whole of that cliff will speedily give way, unless a most expensive work shall be undertaken to preventit. Yesterday sc'nnight,. as the Earl of ILCHESTER was hunting near his country seat at Melbury, So merset, his horse, in leaping over a brook, fell - with him, by which accident his LOrdship's thigh was broken 3 but we are happy to hear 14e. is in a fair way of recovery.